Juice spacecraft hits milestone: Flawless flyby, saves fuel and sets course for Venus

The European Space Agency's (ESA) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft has completed a crucial lunar-Earth flyby, using the gravity of both the Moon and Earth to adjust its trajectory towards Venus on its journey to Jupiter. According to the ESA report on Wednesday, the spacecraft made its closest approach to the Moon on Monday at 2115 GMT, followed by its closest approach to Earth nearly 24 hours later on Tuesday at 2156 GMT.

During the flyby, Juice captured images using its monitoring cameras and collected scientific data with eight of its ten instruments. Ignacio Tanco, the mission's spacecraft operations manager, confirmed the gravity assist went smoothly.

The lunar flyby increased Juice’s speed by 0.9 km/s relative to the Sun, while the Earth flyby reduced its speed by 4.8 km/s, setting it on course for Venus, where it is expected to arrive in August 2025.

The flyby not only adjusted Juice’s trajectory but also allowed the mission team to test its scientific instruments.

Launched in April 2023, Juice is part of ESA's Cosmic Vision programme, and this manoeuver saved the mission approximately 100-150 kg of fuel, marking a significant milestone on its path to Jupiter.